This invention relates to improvements in security for doors, for use in security enclosures, such as safes in general and in particular, although not exclusively, to a security chamber, such as the safe or coin box in coin-operated apparatus.
There are many types of coin-operated apparatus for both public and private use, such as gambling machines or video game machines, in which the apparatus will only operate when the correct coinage is inserted. During prolonged use, a number of coins are retained in a coin box within the apparatus until the coins are emptied by the operator or owner. As such, these machines offer a target for petty theft.
To prevent unauthorised access to the coin box, a simple hinged door within a rigid frame is typically provided. The door is locked in place by a barrel lock mounted through a suitable hole in the door. Operation of the lock by a key causes a finger attached to the barrel of the lock to rotate to engage behind a keeper secured to the frame.
The use of a simple barrel lock mounted to the door as described above has proved unsatisfactory in that it can be easily prised open by inserting a lever between the door and the frame, bending the door to deform the finger. To prevent such an attack, many operators provide additional security by providing a locking bar which is hingebly attached to the apparatus at one end and can be locked using a padlock to the apparatus at the other end. In the locked position, the bar covers the door opening. To open the door, the locking bar must therefore be moved from across the door opening.
As well as providing increased security, the locking bar provides the facility for a dual lock security arrangement. By providing separate, usually different, keys for the padlock on the locking bar and the door barrel lock, and giving each key to a separate person, the door cannot be opened unless both people are present. This can reduce instances of unauthorised access. A major problem with the locking bar arrangement, however, is that it is unsightly, and the inventor believes the presence of such conspicuous security actually increases the likelihood of theft or vandalism by presenting the wrong impression to customers.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved security arrangement for securing a door in an opening of a security enclosure, in particular a door for a coin fed apparatus.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a security device for obscuring an opening defined by a frame is provided comprising a door panel portion forming at least a part of a door which, in use, is supported relative to the frame, the door panel portion having a front face and a rear face and an aperture provided therein, a lock retaining member having a first lock receiving aperture provided therein and a second lock receiving aperture provided therein, each lock receiving aperture being adapted to receive a lock and in which the lock retaining member is adapted to be secured to the rear face of the door panel portion in at least a first and a second position and in which said first position the first and second lock receiving apertures are visible through the aperture in the door panel portion, and in the second position only one of the lock receiving apertures is visible through the aperture.
An advantage of the invention is that the arrangement of the lock retaining member in either the first or second position allows the choice of either two lock mounting points (i.e. two lock receiving apertures) for two locks or a single lock mounting point for a single lock without need to produce a separate door panel portion or lock retaining member for each case.
In the first position, both lock receiving apertures may be arranged substantially symmetrically within the aperture in the door panel portion. In the second position, the one visible lock receiving aperture may be disposed substantially at the centre of the aperture in the door panel portion.
The door panel portion and lock retaining member may be pressed from flat metal sheet such as steel sheeting. Alternatively, the door panel portion and lock retaining member may be laser cut from steel sheet. The door panel portion and frame may be laser cut from a single steel sheet so the door is a good fit within the frame with only a small clearance all round. Laser cutting enables alternations to the profile of the door panel portion and the frame etc without the need for expensive alteration of tooling.
The door panel portion may be provided with one or more mounting portions, and the lock retaining member may be provided with one or more mounting points. The lock retaining member may thus be secured to the door panel portion by engagement of the mounting portions with one or more of the mounting points. All the mounting portions may engage the lock retaining member in the first position, and engage different points in the second position. Each mounting portion may comprise a bolt.
The lock receiving apertures may each comprise a hole having a substantially circular outline and a pair of opposing flat surfaces for receiving a barrel lock having a complementary profile. This prevents rotation of the barrel within the apertures. Of course, any other aperture shape for accommodating a lock may be employed.
Preferably, the mounting portions also act as securing means for securing a bolt assembly to the door panel portion. The mounting portions may be the only securing means for the bolt assembly. The bolt assembly is adapted to be operated either directly or indirectly by the rotating action of the lock(s) to engage with a keeper provided on a frame to which the door is mounted. The strength of the security apparatus is thus greatly increased over an assembly in which a finger on the lock engages the keeper.
In one arrangement, the lock comprises a barrel which rotates under the action of a key to rotate a cam or finger which extends radially away from the end of the barrel opposite to the end in which the key is inserted. The finger may be adapted to displace a portion of the bolt assembly in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the door panel to a position in which a portion of the bolt is behind the frame or to a position in which it engages with a keeper mounted on the frame. Of course, the skilled man would appreciate that a keeper is not essential to the invention.
The sliding portion of the bolt assembly may be spring loaded towards either the open position in which it does not slide behind the frame or engage the keeper or spring loaded to the closed position in which it engages the keeper. In the first case, the action of the lock causes the finger to act upon the sliding portion against the spring force to open the door, the opposite occurring in the later case. Thus, in the first case, removal of the lock (e.g. by pushing it out of the lock retaining aperture) would cause the door to remain secure as the bolt would still engage the keeper.
Preferably, the door panel portion comprises substantially the whole of a door and is provided with means along one edge for attaching that edge of the door to a frame. A hinge or a plurality of hooks which engage behind eyes in the frame may be provided for this purpose. The engagement between the door and frame along that side should be such that the door cannot be prised out of the frame. Also, the bolt assembly may engage a keeper disposed on the opposite side of the door panel portion to the attaching means.
According to a second aspect of the invention, we provide a coin-operated apparatus which includes a door frame defining an opening and a security device comprising a door panel portion and a lock retaining member according to the first aspect of the invention.
The coin-operated apparatus may comprise a coin-fed gambling machine, or may comprise a pool table for example.